I’m Sophie, and I'm a structured energy trader at Dare. I've been with the company for a little over a year, and I've been working within markets for over five years.
What are the five most essential qualities to have as a trader?
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Put in the hard work when you're starting out
At the beginning of your career as a trader, you need to be willing to put in the hard work.
This involves very long hours on a busy trading floor and getting through mountains of admin work to help senior traders.
Still, it is vital to know, though it is incredibly challenging, especially as you’re starting out, all the senior traders around you have gone through the exact same experience to get to where they are now.
So, it definitely pays off.
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Stay curious
Whenever you stumble across a particular trend you don't understand, I’d always recommend that you read up on it or check the news to get clued up.
You can also ask a senior trader or one of your peers to help your understanding.
It’s important to remember, not everyone knows everything, and that's okay.
But it's essential to want to know and learn more when faced with a challenging topic and it’s important you know how to get clued in when you need to.
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Be resilient
There are days when you are going to have a bad trading day and a negative PnL – it’s unavoidable. So, it is imperative to know how to pick yourself up, stay confident despite this.
Being resilient in the face of adversity will mean you can use this negative outcome or mistake as a learning opportunity.
Take a note of it, and ask yourself what could have done better, to improve your performance next time.
Every day is a new day, and the market is constantly changing, there will be ups and downs, resilience will keep you confident even in the worst trading days.
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Stay calm
Sometimes a situation comes up and people go into “fight or flight” mode, and it's very easy to panic.
Easier said than done, remember to take a minute to pause, think, and remain calm.
The worst thing you can do is act on your panic and be impulsive. Staying calm will help you go a long way.
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Be reflective
After every trade, you should be actively reflecting on what you have done and what you could have done better.
Keeping a note of this will help you see potential trends emerge and also tracks your performance.
The next few days in trading can be completely different as the any geopolitical event may affect the market severely and it’s crucial you should try to anticipate this and be reactive.
